International Disabled Day | The Barriers For PWDs

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International Disabled Day

International Disabled Day commemorates on 3rd December every year. It is held to recognise the importance of persons with disabilities (PWDs). These people are a deprived part of society nearly all over the world.

Disability 

International Disabled Day can manifest as physical, cognitive, intellectual, mental, sensory, or developmental limitations. It could also be a combination of two or more of them. It inhibits a person from demonstrating a natural ability to perform everyday tasks.

Without a doubt, everyone experiences all types of deprivation and problems at various phases of their lives in international circumstances. However, the confinement of PWDs through barriers is a completely separate phenomenon that causes havoc and stigmatises their entire lives.

The challenges that persons with disabilities experience are as follows:

• Physical accessibility is reduced.
• There is a lack of Assistive Support.
• Negative societal attitudes towards persons with disabilities.
• There is less access to educational facilities.
• Preventing persons with disabilities from getting benefits from services and policies.

There are numerous obstacles that impede PWDs and make doing basic everyday duties practically hard for them. Some of the most prevalent challenges for persons with disabilities are briefly mentioned here.

Behavioural Barriers

The most common feature of social misbehaviour and maltreatment of people with disabilities is behavioural barriers. By their wrongdoing and ill-treatment, some people attempt to obstruct the flow of daily ordinary operations. These obstacles are of different types.

Stereotype Barriers

People have certain misconceptions about disability. PWDs, in their opinion, are ill and impoverished as a result of their handicappedness.

Discriminative Barriers

The misconceptions about disability lead to dilemmas, stigma, discrimination and social injustices for persons with disabilities. Thep false beliefs that disability is a punishment for the immorality, wrongdoings and misfortune must be corrected.

Communicative Barriers

It refers to any form of communication impediment, such as hearing, speaking, reading, or writing. They are classified as PWDs if they are unable to use any ommunication technology.

The following are examples of communication barriers.

1. Preventing PWDs with “sight impairment” from reading a written material.
2. The use of small fonts or unintelligible printed devices that prevent blind persons from reading.
3. The lack of a Braille or On-Screen Readability Device discourages persons from reading.

In the same context, auditory impairment is a barrier to using hearing aids.

1. Captions for videos may be missing.
2. Oral communication that does not rely on manual interpretation, such as Sign language.

Physical Barriers

Physical barriers are primarily structural obstacles that are natural or artificial. They could make it difficult or impossible for persons with disabilities to enter any structure.

Physical impediments may include.

1. Steps and stairs that prevent access to a building or use of a walkway.
2. Unavailability of Mammography equipment that could assist a PWD in standing and moving.
3. Unavailability of measuring and scaling equipment that could aid in fitting a PWD in a wheelchair or proving the difficulty of stepping up.

Policy Barriers

Policy barriers are generally related to a lack of awareness or enforcement of law that benefits or disadvantages persons with disabilities. The following rules and regulations must be observed and accurately implemented.

1. Preventing persons with disabilities from participating in or benefiting from support programmes and services.
2. Preventing PWDs from accessing programmes, services, benefits, and opportunities due to physical disability; and
3. Denial of suitable work chances to eligible PWDs so that they can obtain a job and make a dignified living.

Medical Barriers

Medical hurdles prevent PWDs from receiving basic healthcare benefits from hospitals or government health institutions.

These barriers may include:

1. Basic medical care is unavailable.
2. Inaccessibility to healthcare units and medical equipment.
3. Inadequate timing and scheduling for medical examinations and treatment facilities.
4. Little or no communication between a PWD patient and the clinicians.
5. Misconduct, misunderstanding and lack of information about handicappedness.

Social Barriers

These forms of impediments are related to the worsening social environment in which PWDs are born, develop, live, learn, work and eventually die. It refers to those social determinants of behaviour, education and health in which the functioning of relevant authorities deteriorates dramatically when it comes to the well-being of PWDs. Examples of social barriers may include.

1. They do not have easy access to educational institutions. Only a small percentage of PWDs get education.
2. They could not afford the cost of educational expenses.
3. These persons are less likely to find work.
4. PWDs are more likely than the general population to live in poverty
5. PWDs are particularly vulnerable to health-related problems.

Transportational Barriers

In terms of transportation and movement, it is a strange phenomenon for persons with disabilities. PWDs do not have proper access to transportation due to inadequate facilities of travelling and moving around. Transportation impediments include the following.

1. Inaccessible or inconvenient transportation system, particularly for PWDs who are unable to operate a vehicle due to vision impairment or cognitive disability.
2. Public transportation may be unavailable or difficult for commuting to remote locations.

Author: Fehmeeda Farid Khan